A Potty for Me!: A Lift-the-Flap Instruction Manual [Hardcover]

Karen Katz (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 1 and up

Mommy got me a brand new potty!

But I'm not ready yet!

I want to run and play.

Uh-oh, I peed in my pants.

But Mommy says, "That's okay!"

Children will love following along and lifting the flaps to see the child play, sit on thepotty, eat, sit on the potty, sleep, and then sit on the potty...until finally there is success.

Written from a child's point of view, this new potty-training book will help children join in the final refrain, "I'm so proud of me!"

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreS–A pleasant and fairly innocuous addition to an already crowded field, this rhymed book with reinforced pages uses color cartoon illustrations of a child of indeterminate gender who tries, with mixed results, to use the potty. The upbeat text employs expressions like That's okay! and Yeah! I really did it! If you already own Lara Jones's I Love My Potty (Scholastic, 2002) or Harriet Ziefert's Max's Potty and Sara's Potty (both DK, 1999; o.p.), you probably have enough on the subject. But if you need a new title (and remember, there's only so much that's possible in a book of this type), this one will serve its purpose.–Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Karen Katz has written and illustrated more than forty picture books and novelty books including the bestselling Where Is Baby's Belly Button? After graduating from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, she attended the Yale Graduate School of Art and Architecture where she became interested in folk art, Indian miniatures, Shaker art and Mexican art. Her book, Counting Kisses, was a Children's Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection and an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio 2002 Gold Seal Award Winner. Karen, husband, Gary Richards, and their daughter, Lena, divide their time between New York City and Saugerties, New York.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 1 and up
  
• Hardcover: 28 pages
• Publisher: Little Simon (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689874235
• ISBN-13: 978-0689874239
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (138 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Health, Mind & Body > General
  • #4 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Baby-3 > Basic Concepts > Sense & Sensation
  • #4 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Health > Toilet Training

More About the Author

Check out my newest book WIGGLE YOUR TOES! A Book to pull,fluff, and wiggle!

I have always been interested in folk art from around the world, Indian miniatures, Mexican ceramics, fabrics, Chagall, Matisse, children's art, and primitive painting, and I love to paint and experiment with pattern, texture, collage and color. The careers I've had--as a costume designer, a quilt maker, a fabric artist, and a graphic designer--have taken all these interests into account. Looking back, I can see that these passions and career choices have played a large part in influencing me to become a children's book author and illustrator.

But most importantly, it was after my husband and I adopted our daughter from Guatemala that I was inspired to do a children's book for her. My first book, Over the Moon, was the story of that magical experience of welcoming our daughter Lena into our lives. I painted, I drew, I collaged, and I wrote, and after working very hard... a beautiful book was born! Twenty-two books later, my daughter--now fourteen years old--still is an inspiration for me.

I am fascinated by babies and little kids. The simplest words and gestures can make them laugh. Sometimes standing in line at the supermarket and watching kids in grocery carts, my best ideas are born.

I am fascinated by people from all over the world and what they look like and how they live and the differences that make us all unique.

When an idea pops into my head I ask these questions:
Will a child want to read this book?
Will a parent want to read this book with their child?
Will this book make a parent and child feel something?
Is there something visual here that will hold a child's interest?
Will a child see something in a different way after reading this book?
If the answer is yes, then I know I'm on the right track.

I am very lucky to get to do what I do. Everyday I go into my studio and have fun. Don't get me wrong, some days are very frustrating. Sometimes the colors are all wrong and the words don't sound right. But after I work at it for a while...and try to do it a different way...and think...and change the words or colors...and try some more...suddenly, there it is--a great page of writing, or a great illustration. And nothing is more satisfying than that.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is brilliant!, August 18, 2005

By 

Pizor (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Potty for Me!: A Lift-the-Flap Instruction Manual (Hardcover)

I bought this book along with two others for my 18 month old simply to introduce the concept of the potty to her. The first book I bought was called My First Potty Book and it was pretty bad. The second one I bought was Once Upon a Potty which is excellent, but a little too advanced for my daughter. Then I bought A Potty for Me which was perfect. The pictures are big and colorful and the amount of text on each page is perfect for a short attention spanned little girl, not to mention the story is very sweet and well written. The pacing is just right. It doesn't simply tell you how to use a potty, but goes into the anxiety a child might have as well as the trying and geting it wrong and the practicing and then the trying and getting it right.

My daughter asks me to read this book to her over and over again, every night. As for the lift the flap concept, it's not exactly what you would expect. It's more like a page that folds out to another page. Picture a storybook with a centerfold on each page. I guess that's the easiest way of describing it. That little piece of interaction helps keep the little ones' attention.

This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cute but..., May 9, 2007

By 

rain4me (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Potty for Me!: A Lift-the-Flap Instruction Manual (Hardcover)

This is pretty cute...especially if you love Karen Katz illustrations! I took the idea of wrapping our 2 year old's potty chair like a present so she could relate to the beginning of the book :) However, I found a few phrases to contradict the goal...so I change some of the words. Like, instead of saying "this potty's not for me" I say "the potty waits for me" and instead of "I still don't think I can" I say "I wonder if I can" just to take the negative implication out. I understand why she wrote it like that...to embrace the rollercoaster experience of potty training and it IS true. However, I didn't want to take a chance that our head strong daughter would go around saying "the potty's not for me" as it's already her tendency to put up a fight!

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not To Sure About This Book, June 25, 2008

By 

galvenusluvshouston - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Potty for Me!: A Lift-the-Flap Instruction Manual (Hardcover)

Let me first mention that I am a huge fan of Karen Katz's books. However, this book was a big disappointment. Instead of teaching the child how to use the potty, the story contradicts using the potty. The child in the book spends most of the time rejecting the potty. This book basically confused my child and I stop reading it. The illustrations are great, but the story indicates that this particular child is not ready to use the potty. The lack of encouragement and motivation of potty training in this story is not great at all.